One Hell Of A Life

chapter twenty: texting, calling.

One missed call: Deji.
iMessage from JJ:
You want me to drive tomorrow?

Shit.

Well, I'm thankful that my brothers remembered what we were doing the next day.

I'd been having an "editing" day, and JJ, Deji and I were to be travelling down to Bristol to meet our cousins for a day out around there. We have three cousins: Ziko, Melody, and Idris. Ziko is the same age as JJ, and she has a child named Joy, who is four years old. Mel is fifteen, and working for the same hairdressing company as her older sister. Idris is 22, and was always very close with Deji when we'd see them when we were younger.

Joy's fifth birthday was coming up, so we'd organised to meet up with our cousins to spend time with them, since the only time we ever communicate with each other is through a screen due to the distance we live apart. I'd bought Joy a huge wooden doll house for her birthday gift - standing at around three feet high. It was to be delivered to their house the day before Joy's birthday.

Thank God I didn't forget about the present.

I slid my finger across the screen, returning Deji's call.
"Yo." He answered almost immediately.
"You called, bro?" I scanned my Oyster card, walking through the gate.
"Yeah, um, is tomorrow still going ahead?" Deji questioned.
"As far as I know it is, yeah. I mean, I haven't heard anything from Ziko, so-"
"No, no, that's fine - it's because I'll let my trainer know that I'm busy, if that's okay." He cut me off.
"Sure, yeah. Should be cool. Do you want me to check just incase?" I offered.
"I'll message Idris soon, thank you, though." Deji said.

"No problem. Shall we get the train? JJ's offered to drive me, that's all. We could meet you at Parson Street station?" I suggested.
"Yeah, we could do that." He agreed.
"I'll let Jide know. Cheers, Dej." I thanked.
"You're welcome. See you tomorrow, Em." Deji put the phone down just as I replied with: "Bye."

Not long afterwards, I arrived home at Stratford, replying to JJ's message during my journey.

Em - Shall we get the train tomorrow and meet Dej at Parson Street? It's the station round the corner from Ziko's.

JJ - We can do. It would also be easier so then I don't have to leave my car on that stupid hill that she lives on ...

Em - Hey! Her house is nice.

JJ - You're not the one who fell down the stairs last time you were there.

Em - Fair do's.

JJ - I'll still pick you up and drive to the Underground.

Em - Thanks Jide.

-

As I walked through my front door, I noticed that I couldn't go to bed.

Why?

Because I was that fucking awake.

Deciding to finally bite the bullet, I changed into a massive comfy tee shirt, sat myself down in front of my TV, and began styling my hair, ready for the next day. I decided on five thick cornrows, with very sharp partings.

Not many people realise, but my hair is actually quite long. Most afro hair tends to be more on the big and frizzy side rather than curly. My hair is more coiled and fluffy, and I have to sometimes work around the fact that it will never be large, long or lusciously voluminous, so I opt for braids and buns rather than wearing my hair down.

If you were to choose a curl and pull it downwards into a straight state, it would go down past my boobs - contrasting to where my natural curls sit at the nape of my neck, barely covering my ears.

So I braided my hair in front of a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory which had been recommended to me by Ethan a few years back; I was instantly hooked.

Just as I finished the final braid, all set to apply the foam to keep my braids in place for the next week or so, I got a call from Harry.

"What's up?" I put my phone on loudspeaker, turning down the TV a little so I could hear him better.
"I'm going to Brazil for a few days and Freezy's dropped out because of a Rebel game, you down to fill his place?" He asked.
"Rah, okay. What's the dates?" I asked.
"September 9th is the day of the flight. Hotel's booked in Rio. We're staying for five days." Harry explained further.

"Two seconds." I got up and made my way to my calendar that was hung on my wall.

Call me old school, I don't care. I prefer it that way.

"I can do September 9th. How much do you want for the flight tickets?"
"They're £80 but you don't have to-"
"Yes of course I need to fucking pay you for my ticket and my half of the hotel fee." I cut him off.
"Well, that's me told." Harry chuckled. "It'd be good if you got it to me ASAP - I know how forgetful you can be."
"That's fine by me." I agreed. "Thanks for the invite."
"Any time." He replied.

"Talk later?" Harry offered.
"Sure. In a bit." I grabbed my phone, finished with my hair, and ended the call.

-

The next morning I woke up at 8:15am, not needing my alarm to blare at me at 8:30am. I judged the weather after throwing my curtains open - I saw that it was cloudy.

Boring.

I dressed in a North Face white tee shirt with a red box around the brand's name, pairing it with my Off-White Nike Vapourmax along with grey Nike leggings. My hair was taken care of, so I brushed a sheer layer of powder foundation onto my face, finishing it off with eyebrows, mascara and setting spray - of course.

iMessage
from JJ
I'm outside

I tapped back a quick okay and then locked up my flat, making my way out to the front of the building. I got in Jide's car, and we drove to London Bridge Station.

a/n:

the next chapter is going to be an absolute whirlwind ☕️☕️☕️

WE'RE ALMOST AT 2K! TYSM!!

also, it's world mental health awareness day today. if any one of you beautiful readers are feeling down in the dumps, have problems on your mind, then message me. i'm here to listen, talk, and maybe even cheer you up.

thank you so fucking much for reading. it means the world.

all the love,

lee x